Combination wheel chair and commode chair

ABSTRACT

A rectangular chair frame equipped with casters upon the lower ends of its legs is provided with a platform seat containing an elongated central commode opening normally closed by a closure mounted upon a transverse pivot shaft secured to one of the elongated sides of the closure and equipped with a hand lever for swinging the closure from its closed position (FIGS. 1 and 2) to its open position (FIG. 3). Thereupon the patient, without being removed from the chair, when the need arises, can be moved to a position over a conventional toilet bowl. Thereafter, the closure is closed by swinging the pivot shaft hand lever 180* in the reverse direction to consequently swing the closure into closing relationship with the opening. The closure is releasably locked in its closed position by a swinging latch lever pivoted to the underside of the seat platform on either side or on the back (as shown). The chair has L-shaped side arms pivotally mounted upon the upper extensions of the rear legs and having forward ends provided with locking collars movable downward and upward into and out of locking relationship respectively with keeper blocks on the upper ends of the forward legs, whereupon either side arm can be swung sidewise in order to slide the patient off the seat platform onto his bed or vice versa. The seat platform may optionally be provided with raising and lowering mechanism (not shown) beyond the scope of the present invention to bring it upward to the level of the bed mattress. One such arrangement is shown in my co-pending application Ser. No. 823,534, filed May 5, 1969 for Invalid Lift-Transfer Chair which on Apr. 11, 1972 was issued as U. S. Pat. No. 3,654,643.

United States Patent [1 1 Clanan 1 Nov. 6, 1973 COMBINATION WHEEL CHAIRAND COMMODE CHAIR [76] Inventor: Wayne N. Clanan, 1458 Burns Ave.,

Detroit, Mich. 48214 [22] Filed: Dec. 20, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 210,030

[52] U .S. Cl 4/134, 297/118, 297/348 [51] Int. C1,... A47k 11/04, A47k11/06, A61g 7/04 {58] Field of Search 4/134, 113; 297/118, 297/116, 348,411, 412,115, 417, 420, 421, 422

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,061,368 10/1962 Matthews297/118 3,062,582 11/1962 Baldwin 297/118 1,691,620 1l/1928 Wilson 4/1342,869,614 1/1959 Wamsley..... 4/134 UX 2,880,783 4/1959 Schwinn 4/1343,215,469 11/1965 Wamsley.. 297/348 3,611,449 10/1971 Barry 4/134Primary Examinerl-lenry K. Artis Att0meyWillis Bugbee [57] ABSTRACT Arectangular chair frame equipped with casters upon the lower ends of itslegs is provided with a platform seat containing an elongated centralcommode opening I normally closed by a closure mounted upon a transversepivot shaft secured to one of the elongated sides of the closure andequipped with a hand lever for swinging the closure from its closedposition (FIGS. 1 and 2') to its open position (FIG. 3). Thereupon thepatient, without being removed from the chair, when the need arises, canbe moved to a position over a conventional toilet bowl. Thereafter, theclosure is closed by swinging the pivot shaft hand lever 180 in thereverse direction to consequently swing the closure into closingrelationship with the opening. The closure is releasably locked in itsclosed position by a swinging latch lever pivoted to the underside ofthe seat platform on either side or on the back (as shown). The chairhas L-shaped side arms pivotally mounted upon the upper extensions ofthe rear legs and having forward ends provided with locking collarsmovable downward and upward into and out of locking relationshiprespectively with keeper blocks on the upper ends of the forward legs,whereupon either side arm can be swung sidewise in order to slide thepatient off the seat platform onto his bed or vice versa. The seatplatform may optionally be provided with raising and lowering mechanism(not shown) beyond the scope of the present invention to bring it upwardto the level of the bed mattress. One such arrangement is shown in myco-pending application Ser. No. 823,534, filed May 5, 1969 for lnvalidLift-Transfer Chair which on Apr. 1 1, 1972 was issued as U. S. Pat. No.3,654,643.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 COMBINATION WHEEL CHAIR AND'COMMODE' CHAIRSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The combination wheel chair and commode chairof the present invention solves a serious problem in the care ofinvalids and crippled persons, in that it not only serves fully as anordinary wheel chair but also, without disturbing the occupant in anyway can be moved into the bathroom and, with a simple manipulation of ahand lever and latch, converted into a commode chair by having itscentral closure swung into its open position and the chair pushed overthe toilet bowl after the cover and seat thereof have been raised. Aftersuch use has been completed, the chair, with the occupant still sittingin it, is pushed forward away from the toilet bowl and the closure thenswung into its closed position relatively to the central commodeopening, whereupon the occupant, without leaving the chair, can betransported elsewhere and can sit inthe chair and read or otherwiseoccupy himself. If he wishes to return to his bed, it is a very simpleoperation to transfer him from this chair to his bed and vice versa,without disturbing the patient..

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination wheel chair and commodechair, according to one form of the invention, with one armlockingcollar raised to its released position preparatory to swinging that armsidewise into the dotted line position shown therein;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section through the chair of FIG. 1, lookingupward in the direction of the arrows 2-2 toward the bottom of the seatplatform, showing the closure latch locking the closure in its closedposition;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section similar to FIG. 2 but showing the closureunlatched and swung 180 to its open position with the seat platformcommode opening ready for use;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged central vertical section taken along the line 4'-4in FIG. 2,'with the open position of the closure indicated in dottedlines; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevation of the back of the seatplatform and its supporting legs, with the closure-operating hand leverin its releasably locked closure-closing position.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIG. 1 shows a combination wheelchair and commode chair, generally designated 10, according to one formof the invention as provided with a rectangular seat platform structure,generally designated 12, supported by a pair of tubular forward legs 14and a pair of tubular rearward legs 16 at its forward and rearwardcorners respectively. Each forward leg 14 is connected to its respectiverearward leg 16 by a cross bar 18 a short distance above the lower ends20 of the legs 14 and 16. Mounted at the lower ends 20 are conventionalcasters 22 provided with caster wheels 24 by which the chair 10 may bemoved from place to place. The casters 22 are conventional andordinarily are provided with shanks extendingupward into theirrespective legs 14 and 16 and journaled in ball bearings by which theyare easily swung from side to side, in order to enble the chair 10 to besteered by the attendant.

The rearward legs 16 above the seat platform structure are provided withelongated extensions 26 terminating in right-angled bent handles 28 bywhich an attendant can push the chair l0 and its occupant from place toplace. Pivotally mounted upon'the rearward leg extensions 26 are sleevebearings 30 welded or otherwise secured to the rearward ends of L-shapedside arms 32. Slidably mounted upon the downwardly-bent forward ends 34of the side arms 32 are locking collars 36 to the peripheries of whichare welded or otherwise secured parallel locking pins 38, the lower endsof which project downward below the lower ends of the collars 36 intoregistry with locking bores 40 in keeper blocks 42. I

The keeper blocks 42 are welded or otherwise secured to the seatplatform structure 12 at the forward corners thereof and are ofapproximately elongated oval cross-section, the long axes of whichextend fore and aft of the seat platform structure 12. The latter iscomposed of four angle bars 44 welded to one another at their obliquelycut ends 45 (FIGS. 2 and 3) and at their forward corners their sideflanges are also welded to the keeper blocks 42. Welded or otherwisesecured to the upper flanges of the angle bars 44 is aseat panel 46 0fsteel or other suitable material provided with an elongated centralcommode opening or aperture 48 which is elongated in afront-and-reardirection in the seat panel 46. Movable upward and downward into closingand opening relationship respectively with the opening 48 is thecorrespondingly configured and elongated panel 50 of a closure,generally designated 52. The closure 52 includes a pair of cross bars 54(FIG. 2) and a keeper pad 55 welded or otherwise secured to theunderside of the closurepanel 50.

One end of each cross bar 54 is welded or otherwise secured to a pivotshaft 56 disposed adjacent one of the longer sides of the elongatedclosure panel 50 and parallel to the side bars 54 of the seat platformstructure 12. The inner end of the pivot shaft 56 is joumaled in abearing block 58 welded or otherwise secured to the vertical flange ofthe forward angle bar 44, whereas its outer portion just inside thevertical flange of the rearward angle bar 44 drilled transversely toreceive a cotter pin 60 which retains the inner end of the pivot shaft56 in the bearing block58. The-rearward angle bar 44 is drilled for thepassage of the pivot shaft 56 and is extended therebeyond to receive anenlarged head 62 welded or otherwise secured thereto. Pivotally mountedby a pivot pin 64 on the parallel upper and lower sides of the head 62is a clevis 66 to which is secured the inner end of a closure operatinglever 68.

Secured as by welding in spaced parallel relationship to one another andto the angle bars 44 are two longitudinal bars 70 (FIGS. 2 and 3), toone of which is secured a pivot bolt 72 a short distance rearwardly fromthe rearward edge of the commode opening 48. Pivotally mounted upon thepivot bolt 72 is a closure latch lever 74, the inner end 76 of which isadapted to be swung toward and away from the edge of the commode opening48 into and out of engagement with the keeper pad 55 in order to latchthe closure 52 in its closed position (FIG. 2) or to release the closure52 for downward and sideward swinging into the open position shown in inFIG. 3. From the outer end 78 of the latch lever 74 there projects anoperating handle 80. The vertical flange of the rearward angle bar 44 ofthe seat platform structure 12 is slotted longitudinally at 82 for thepassage of the operating handle in its motion to and fro between thelocking and unlocking positions of the latch lever 74 (FIGS. 2 and 3). Adetent hook 84 (FIG. having its elongated base 86 welded, riveted orotherwise secured to the vertical flange of the rearward angle bar 44yieldingly grasps and releasably hold the operating lever 68 in itsclosed position. It will be understood that the seat platform structure12 and closure 52 are ordinarily provided with padded upholstery 88 and90 respectively (shown dotted in FIG. 4) for the comfort of theoccupant. This padded upholstery 88 and 90 is conveniently made of thesynthetic leather known commercially under the trademark Naugahyde orother suitable material. This has been omitted from the drawing to avoidconcealing the underlying structure.

In the operation of the combination wheel chair and commode chair 10,let it be assumed that the moving parts are in the, positons shown inFIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 wherein the closure 52 is closlng the commodeopening 48 and that a patient has been seated in the chair for transportto the bathroom. By means of the handles 28, the hospital attendantpushes the chair 10 with ward the toilet bowl, the cover and seat ofwhich havebeen previously raised. The attendant then swings the handle80 ,of the latch lever 74 from its locking position (FIG. 2) to itsunlocking position (FIG. 3), then grasps the operating handle 68, pushesit downward out of engagement with the hook 84 and pulls it towardhimself. He then swings'it downward 180, correspondingly rotating thepivot shaft 56 and swinging the closure 52 from its closed position ofFIG. 2 into its open position of FIG 3, whereupon the chair is ready foruse as a commode. Without disturbing the occupant, the attendant pushesthe chair backward over the toilet bowl.

When the use of the chair 10 as a commode has been completed, theattendant moves the chair 10 away from the toilet bowl and swings theoperating handle 68 in the reverse direction, consequently swinging theclosure 52 from its open position of FIG. 3 back to its closed positionof FIG. 2. The operator then swings the operating lever 68 horizontallyaround the pivot pin 64 of its clevis 62 into its locked positionbeneath the detent hook 84 (FIG. 2). He then swings the handle 80 of thelatch lever 74 from its unlocked position of FIG. 3 to its lockingposition of FIG. 2, whereupon the closure 52 is thus locked 1n itsclosed position (FIG. 2).

The occupant of the chair 10 on being transported in the chair 10 backto his bed may be removed from the chair 10 by sliding the arm lockingcollar 36 of the appropriate arm'32 upward to withdraw the locking pin38 from the locking bore 40 of the keeper block 42. The arm 32 may thenbe swung rearward around its respective sleeve bearing 30. With thechair 10 positioned alongside the bed (not shown), the seat 12 of thechair 10, which is provided with seat-lift mechanism (not shown),isthereby raised to a level with the mattress (also notshown). Theoccupant 'of the chair 10 may then be slid sidewise onto the bed,completing his,

transfer. Alternatively, it will thus be evident that the patient mayremain in the chair 10 asl long as he likes, using it in the manner ofan ordinary wheel chair.

In the drawing, the proportionate widths of the closure 52 and theadjacent portions of the seat panel 46 in actual installations may varyfrom those shown in the drawing. For example, the standard width of theopening in the toiletseat is 8% inches which would leave panel widths of5% inches on each side of such an opening 48 in the seat panel 46. Witha corresponding 8% width of the closure 52, the latter in its retractedposition (FIG. 4) would actually be inclined slightly downward wth itsouter edge projecting beneath and beyond the adjacent angle bar 44.

In actual use, of the invention, it has been found valuable not only asa commode chair and as an arm chair but also as a wheel chair which canbe rolled beneath the shower head in a shower stall.

I claim:

1. A combination wheel chair and commode chair comprising a chair seatstructure having a commode aperture therethrough which is elongated in afront-and-rear direction thereof,

a wheeled chair leg structure connected to said seat structure insupporting relationship thereto,

a closure configured to fit said aperture,

and mechanism operatively connected to said closure for moving saidclosure between an apertureclosing position and an aperture-openingposition thereof, whereby the patient is not lifted or moved in any waywhile converting the wheel chair to a commode chair, and vice versa,said closure-moving mechanism including a closure-actuating shaftrotatably mounted on said seat structure on a fixed axis of rotation ina front-and-rear direction adjacent one of the longer sides of saidaperture and operatively connected to one of the longer sides of saidclosure, and also includes a manually actuated element operativelyconnected to said shaft for rotating said closure-actuating shaftbetween said aperture-closing position and said aperture-openingposition. I

2. A combination wheel chair and commode chair, according to claim 1,wherein said manually operated element includes a hand lever operativelyconnected to one end of said shaft. A combination wheel chair andcommode chair, according to claim 1, wherein said hand lever ispivotally connected to said shaft.

4. A combinatlon wheel chair and commode chair, according to claim 1,wherein a latch device is movable on said seat structure for travelbetween a closurelocking position and a closure-releasing position, saidlatch device including a closure-latching member pivotally mounted onsaid seat structure and movable to and fro beneath said closure into andout of latching engagement with the bottom portion of said closure whilesaid closure is in its aperture-closing position.

.5. A combination wheel chair and commode chair, according to claim 1,wherein said leg structure includes a pair of laterally spacedsubstantially vertical front legs and a pair of laterally spacedsubstantially vertical rear legs having upper portions extending upwardabove said seat structure and above said front legs, and chair armsextending from said upper portions to said front legs, at least one ofsaid chair arms being pivotally connected to one of said upper portionsof one of said rear legs and releasably engaging one of said front legsfor horizontal swinging motion relatively to said one front leg aroundits pivotal connection to its respective upper portion.

6. A combination wheel chair and coomode chair, according to claim 5,wherein an arm locking arrangement is disposed between said one frontleg and the end of said one chair arm remote from its pivotal connectionto said upper portion of said one rear leg in releasable lockingengagement therebetween.

* a; w n

1. A combination wheel chair and commode chair comprising a chair seatstructure having a commode aperture therethrough which is elongated in afront-and-rear direction thereof, a wheeled chair leg structureconnected to said seat structure in supporting relationship thereto, aclosure configured to fit said aperture, and mechanism operativelyconnected to said closure for moving said closure between anaperture-closing position and an aperture-opening position thereof,whereby the patient is not lifted or moved in any way while convertingthe wheel chair to a commode chair, and vice versa, said closure-movingmechanism including a closure-actuating shaft rotatably mounted on saidseat structure on a fixed axis of rotation in a front-and-rear directionadjacent one of the longer sides of said aperture and operativelyconnected to one of the longer sides of said closure, and also includesa manually actuated element operatively connected to said shaft forrotating said closure-actuating shaft between said aperture-closingposition and said aperture-opening position.
 2. A combination wheelchair and commode chair, according to claim 1, wherein said manuallyoperated element includes a hand lever operatively connected to one endof said shaft.
 3. A combination wheel chair and commode chair, accordingto claim 1, wherein said hand lever is pivotally connected to saidshaft.
 4. A combinat1on wheel chair and commode chair, according toclaim 1, wherein a latch device is movable on said seat structure fortravel between a closure-locking position and a closure-releasingposition, said latch device including a closure-latching memberpivotally mounted on said seat structure and movable to and fro beneathsaid closure into and out of latching engagement with the bottom portionof said closure while said closure is in its aperture-closing position.5. A combination wheel chair and commode chair, according to claim 1,wherein said leg structure includes a pair of laterally spacedsubstantially vertical front legs and a pair of laterally spacedsubstantially vertical rear legs having upper portions extending upwardabove said seat structure and above said front legs, and chair armsextending from said upper portions to said front legs, at least one ofsaid chair arms being pivotally connected to one of said upper portionsof one of said rear legs and releasably engaging one of said front legsfor horizontal swinging motion relatively to said one front leg aroundits pivotal connection to its respective upper portion.
 6. A combinationwheel chair and coomode chair, according to claim 5, wherein an armlocking arrangement is disposed between said one front leg and the endof said one chair arm remote from its pivotal connection to said upperportion of sAid one rear leg in releasable locking engagementtherebetween.